Philadelphia Launch Media Advisory
Philadelphia Area Churches Prepare for Return of Harvest
with Greg Laurie, Hosting Launch Event, February 7
Evangelistic Harvest Crusade Events, Which Have Drawn More Than 3.6 Million
Around the World Since 1990, Will Return to Greater Philadelphia This Fall
RIVERSIDE, Calif., Jan. 31, 2008—Pastors and leaders from a variety of denominations in the Greater Philadelphia area will gather at the Wachovia Center next Thursday, Feb. 7, to officially kick off a nearly year-long endeavor to bring a large-scale evangelistic outreach to the city, October 3–5, 2008.
After a nine-year absence, local Philadelphia churches are making plans to host a return visit in 2008—at the Wachovia Center—by Harvest Crusades with Greg Laurie, the international evangelistic outreach that drew more than 100,000 people to the Wachovia Spectrum (formerly First Union Spectrum) for events in 1997, 1998, and 1999. Since 1990, Southern California pastor and evangelist Greg Laurie's Harvest events have drawn more than 3.6 million people to stadiums and arenas in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.
More than 125 local churches are already involved in supporting the Greater Philadelphia Harvest '08, and that number is expected to grow as it is introduced to the community through events like the kick-off meeting on February 7. The Harvest kick-off meeting is open to community and church leaders, and will feature an overview from local executive team members, local director Jerry Paradise, and California-based Harvest staff John Collins and Mike Brazeal. Also speaking will be Steve Noble, who served as the chairman of the Triangle Harvest in Raleigh, NC in 2007.
Invited by local organizing committees in each city where a crusade is held, Harvest with Greg Laurie holds evangelistic events that involve the hosting community on every level—from event coordination to volunteer participation to connecting people to their local church at the end of each crusade. For more information about the meeting at the Wachovia Center, call (215) 464-9456.
Called the "evangelist of the future" by Billy Graham, Laurie draws on contemporary means to describe the relevance of faith in today's world at each Harvest event. Laurie's talks encompass topics that appeal to people of any age and answer questions like: Why am I here? Is God real? What happens when I die?
In addition to serving as the founder and evangelist for the Harvest events, Laurie is the senior pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., one of the 15 largest churches in the U.S. He also serves on the board of directors for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse.
Media Contact:
Laura Swickard McGowan
Laura@lauramcgowan.com
| Phone: |
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(847) 328-8009 |
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(847) 866-9511 |
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